Michael Cocchiarale

Third Anniversary

She came back, plodding clumsily in the sand, flip-flops in one hand, ice cream bars in the other.

“Thought you were going to the bathroom.”

“I did.”

“What’s with the ice cream?”

She plopped down on the towel, kicking up sand.

“Beach food, silly.”

“We have ice cream at home. Chocolate Marshmallow. Rocky Road.”

“So?”

“We’ve been eating it for days.”

“You mean ‘you’ve.’ I’ve.”

We ate the frozen bars in silence. They’re small, and you can finish them in a minute. But there she was, long after I was done, still going at it, the white stuff oozing down all over her hand, which she had to lick because she hadn’t even thought of napkins.

Michael Cocchiarale lives and works in Chester, PA. Some of his other creative work may be found in Stickman Review, Eclectica, Slow Trains, Flashquake, Snow Monkey, and Pindeldyboz.